1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for efficiently and economically planting rootstocks or runners of lawngrass or grass into grooves made in a ground surface. The rootstocks or runners are laid in turf or in a grass field in order to envigorate grass growth and improve the appearance of the turf or grass field.
2. Description of Prior Art
It has recently become strongly desirable to maintain a green surface for a lawn (especially for a golf course lawn) and to maintain the green surface in both summer and winter to allow enjoyment of the lawn (especially the golf course lawn) throughout the year. Therefore, it is customary to plant lawngrass growing in the summer (summer lawngrass) and lawngrass growing in the winter (winter lawngrass) in an overlying manner. This practice is called overseeding. More specifically, summer lawngrass is planted as a base in a portion of ground, and the seeds of winter lawngrass are sown over the summer lawngrass.
Summer lawngrass is employed as the base since it is of the vegetative-propagation type and has no seed. Propogation of summer lawngrass can only be achieved by planting its rootstocks or runners. However, the planting of its rootstocks or runners in a lawn is a very difficult job which could only be done successfully through mannual labor. By contrast, winter lawngrass propagates from seeds, and can easily be planted in a lawn by simply sowing its seeds.
Overseeding makes it possible for a lawn to maintain its green surface even in the summer since the summer lawngrass in the base will grow when the winter lawngrass dies from summer heat. Winter lawngrass is "dead", or in a dormant state, for only about 70 days in a year and maintains green leaves for the remainder of the year continuing for as long as nearly 300 days. Therefore, the summer lawngrass base has to grow under suppression of the winter lawngrass for a long period of growing time. As a result, the summer lawngrass is often defeated by the winter lawngrass and disappears. Thus, it is necessary to plant runners (turf seedlings) of summer lawngrass into ground that has a base of winter lawngrass. This process has been considered difficult to carry out mechanically, and has only been able to be done through use of manual labor.